I don't own Hilda.

I hope you all had a wonderful new year!

Hilda's newfound interest in the spellbooks in the library was rather... unsettling, to say the least. After the whole Tide Mouse fiasco and even learning the dangers of magic wasn't enough to stop the girl. She was curious and undaunted, fascinated by the things that seemed simple but really were complex.

She seemed surprisingly open with the idea of being a witch and using all sorts of magic, which would most likely be frowned upon in a city like Trolberg. But even after what she had done before, she would still not read the fine print; or become so disinterested in reading the footnotes that she either falls asleep or skims the pages, thus she fails to absorb the information.

The librarian, unbeknownst to the Trolbergers and regulars of the library, was actually quite avid in witchcraft herself. There was something about Hilda that made her feel like she was no ordinary child. Whether it was the white deerfox that constantly followed her about, or the bright blue hair, she stood out in a crowd. Her discovery of the secret section and interest in using magic had convinced the librarian that Hilda was definitely something else.

She seemed to be a helpful kind of person- trustworthy, taking responsibility when she is at fault. If she asked to go back into the secret section, the librarian allowed it. ...Of course, she'd end up regretting it later.

Today would certainly be a most eventful day.

"I wonder if there's a safe spell I could use... maybe there's an easy one that doesn't even have any side effects at all!" Hilda walks across the shelves of old and dusty spellbooks lining the walls, tilting her head to read the titles. Twig follows her, as usual, looking a bit concerned.

"I'm just a little curious. Not all magic can have a bad outcome. The elf contract didn't, right?"

The deerfox growls quietly.

"I just want proof... that human magic isn't all about awful things like soul stealing and curses. I'll be careful with it this time. I promise."

She ends up choosing a book at random, as most of the books used a very odd font for the titles that was straining to read. Blowing the dust off and touching the velvety dark blue cover, the golden words of the title seemed to jump out before Hilda: Virtuous Simplicity: Facile Spells For Beginners.

"That's a coincidence," Hilda muses, opening the book cautiously, only to find a mere collection of blank pages.

"Huh?" There was not even a single splatter of ink on the paper.

"Is this a misprinted copy, or-"

'What a fool she is, letting a child in here,' the words appeared on the pages, clear as day, in bold black ink. They fade and melt off the page as fast as they appeared.

Hilda blinks, and Twig growls in suspicion.

"You're... you're alive?" the girl asks, not too surprised, considering the things she's gone through.

'Oh? Words just appearing on my pages isn't enough to prove that?'

"I-I'm sorry," Hilda starts, "your, um... title, says you're a simple spellbook, so I-"

The book starts wildly shuffling about as if a windstorm is turning its fluttering pages, possibly mimicking a ripple of laughter.

'Simple! Oh, you foolish little girl. You can't just waltz in here expecting ME to show you, a mere child, the basics of witchcraft. This is Trolberg, kid. They'd lynch you, I bet! You probably don't even know the real meaning of the word 'facile'!'

Hilda winces, putting her hand to her neck at the mention of lynching.

"Well... Who are you, anyway? I've never heard of spellbooks that can... talk."

'The librarian lady you know? The weird goth chick? When she was little, she was a lot like you- attempted an animation spell on a toy of hers and it misfired! Hit me instead! That's why and how I know a child cannot use magic responsibly. To use spells in here, you have to know the basics already, anyway. Everything has a cost, and some spells are a risk, with some consequences unforeseen. I've been trapped on that shelf for years. She must've forgotten about me. Luckily, having all these other books here gives me plenty more to reference than the dumb old spells I had. The only thing I couldn't change was my title.'

Hilda looks surprised, mouth agape for a moment. The librarian was a witch? There was something strange about the way she knew what book Hilda would need or how she'd memorized every plot in the cemetery... It takes her a moment to speak again, mouth drying up.

"I-I'm sorry... But, I was wondering... do you know of any spells that are easy and don't have any 'unforeseen consequences'? I just want to see a simple example of magic, like growing a plant faster, or more helpful things... that don't involve stealing people's souls."

'Oh. Sure.'

When you talk in writing, no one can detect your sarcasm.

A spell appears on the book's pages: Reducing Vacuous Behavior.

"What does 'vacuous' mean?" Hilda asks, "that's a funny word. And kind of a strange thing to call a spell. And why this but nothing else-?"

'Try it out, maybe, you'll find it makes a huge difference!'

Twig seems unsettled, but Hilda decides to give it a shot. The deerfox was more aggravated though, considering that his friend and master was having this argument with a book, of all things.

"You have to have signed an elf contract- already done, and say these following words clearly twice... 'Incedere inter minores'... am I pronouncing it right?"

The book writes a pronunciation guide.

"You seem awfully... passive aggressive somehow..."

'I insist, little girl. This is absolutely simple, especially for you- you've already signed a contract with an elf, am I correct? No drawbacks.'

"What do elves have to do with a spell like this, though?"

The book freezes a moment.

'They wrote it, obviously. Can't have anyone not adhering to the rules in an elf colony. Try it.'

"Fine, fine, okay." Hilda takes a deep breath, "It's not going to change anything other than the... behavior, whatever it is? No soul stealing, no creepy eyes, no-"

'No nothing. Go ahead.'

"Incedere inter minores," she starts, noticing her clothes starting to glow with an unearthly, light green sort of light. Not thinking much of it, (she was aware this was magic, after all) she repeats it: "Incedere inter minores-"

She froze, felt as if something was about to hit her, and she ducks as a wave of light streaks across the room. Something felt off, and Twig started barking, she noticed, and as she began to adjust, it became painfully loud. She tries to cover her ears but had difficulty in doing so. Something was wrong.

The light slowly fades and when Hilda's eyes finally adjust, she jumps in terror.

Twig sat before her, whimpering. But to Hilda, he seemed to be nearly as tall as a tree in her eyes. The shelves and the books towered over her. If one would fall on her, it could be fatal, and the stairs and exit seemed so much steeper and far away than they were before. The one thing she was grateful for was the fact that her clothes had also shrunk down to scale.

'Reducing vacuous behavior. Stupid, mindless behavior. Specifically, yours. You just turned yourself into an elf, kid. Get it? Because it literally reduced- ah, never mind,' the book shuffles oddly back to its place on the shelves, 'You're no longer my problem.'

Hilda nearly faints, but manages to keep herself steady. It doesn't last long, though. She realizes quickly that, as an elf, she no longer had hands. Twig picks her up and rushes out to get back home. To anyone else, it looked as if he were escaping alone.

join me for a book burning

Little Note: Oh my lord i hate the way this was set up. I apologize for that. A talking book is a more Harry Potter kind of thing to do. Either way the book never shows up again let's move forward